Science Day: Cooking and Science

Science Day: Scientists keep learning. They fine tune what they are working on to discover what works best. You can do the same in the kitchen. As a kitchen scientist pick a chocolate cake recipe (or a box mix will do) and substitute the water needed for buttermilk. See how changing one simple ingredient can make all the difference. In this case the cake will be yummier. Seriously it will! The sourness of the buttermilk emphasizes the chocolate taste. You can also try this, substituent buttermilk with regular milk when it is asked for in a chocolate dessert you bake on a normal basis. Do you like this dessert better using buttermilk or not? If you are really up to the challenge you can bake two small cakes, using buttermilk in one and one with water or milk. Have your family decide which they like best.

How to Live with a Messy Child

1)To get your child to clean their room make a game of it. Time them to see how fast they can put away their books in their bookcase and/or how long it takes to put their dirty clothes in the hamper. If you have more than one child have a timed competition. But make it a win-win situation for both kids, like both get 15 minutes extra on the computer or they can make cookies with you.

2)If you have two kids who share a room and one is driving the other batty with their mess you can divide things in half in the room. Each child can have their own shelf on the bookcase. Their own area in the closet and their own drawers. With the top of a dresser do not divide it in half by using masking tape. My cousin did this with me and it ruined the antique dresser. Use a string or ribbon on top.

3)It is hard to get teenagers to clean their room. If they are basically well behaved and that is their only problem you might not want to make a big issue of it. But this is what you can do: Close the door so you do not have to look at the mess. Then set ground rules like, no food can be left on the floor for the ants to get; glasses or liquids also can not be on the floor in case they to tip over; there needs to have a clear path to the closet, window, dresser, and door; dirty clothes piled on the ground will not cleaned; they need to open the window for fresh air sometimes or they need a plugged in air freshener, especially if they have an animal in the room (Caged animals need to have their cages cleaned once a week. The smell of a stinky cage can drive you out of a room. Also, the smell can drift out in the hallway if there is a crack under the door.)

4)Remember just because your child is messy as a kid or teenager does not mean they will be messy as an adult. I was messy as a kid and I am not anymore. I also had a teenage brother who lived in room that looked like he lived in disaster area, plus, his room smelled to high heaven. In his twenties when he got married his wife would have none of that.

To Have or Have Not Juice

I have been told having tall glasses of juice, whether it be orange, apple, grape juice, etc. everyday, more than once a day, is the way of the past for young kids. It's just too much sugar to have. The short orange juice glasses you see served in restaurants are the "in" juice glass again. If your child absolutely loves juice try giving them half water half juice. If they’re having too much of this per day you might try mixing in two ounces of juice with six ounces of water. Some kids just don’t like the taste of plain water.

Movie Review: Ice Age

Movie Title: Ice Age. Animation. Rated PG. PG rating was probably given due to the fighting and slapstick scenes. I saw this movie with a nine-year-old boy. He thought it was funny. As grown up, I thought it was middle of the road. The movie takes place during the Ice Age when woolly mammoths, saber-tooth tigers and Neanderthals roamed the earth. It has a simple plot: A sloth, mammoth, saber-tooth tiger, and saber-tooth squirrel join forces to return a pee-wee Neanderthal to his people.

Overeating Tip

A friend of mine says she eats a small amount of foods like cheese and nuts, or has a glass of milk to make her feel full. She said the fats in these foods make her satisfied so she won’t snack on cookies or potatoes chips. After talking to her I read an article from a doctor who said that if you want to lose weight you have to eat foods that give you fuel and satisfy your appetite rather than just eating surgery fruits (peaches, plums, yes even apples) or eating lettuce and carrots all day. He said people need to have more natural fats. It will make you full and give you energy. Yes, these types of foods do have more calories but he pointed out if don’t have enough calories you won’t feel like exercising because your body is lacking fuel. Which can backfire. When you eat well you give your body fuel and energy to exercise for a fit, toned body. He said what my brother told me years ago, “Stop eating when you are full.” Which is hard when you have cookies around. (You might want someone to hide them from you.) Also, think about this? Are you eating the cookies because you are famished or because you crave something sweet? When you are full, but just want to eat anyway, chew tasty gum, or leave the room that has food in it and start a project to keep your mind off eating more. Another hint: Eat before you are famished so you don’t over eat and regret it. Plus eat, and then wait a bit. You might find you are satisfied with only a sandwich if you give yourself time to feel satisfied. If you hurry and eat a sandwich, then eat a banana, a plum, and four cookies you haven’t given your body to be satisfied with just the sandwich or the sandwich and banana. Also, drink water before you eat. It fills you up. If you forget before a meal at least drink water with the meal.

Scrumptious Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies might sound strange, but they taste great!
Make them with with your kids this Thankgiving. Give a batch to grandma and grandpa.

What you need:
1) 1 cup of pumpkin
2) 2 cups of flour
3) 1 cup of brown sugar
4) 1/2 cup of real butter
5) 1 egg
6) 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
7) 1 1/2 tablespoons of vanilla extract
8) 2 teaspoons of baking powder
9) 1 teaspoon of baking soda
10) 1/2 teaspoon of salt
11) 1 1/2 teaspoons of milk
12) 2 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

What you need to do: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In mixing bowl put in pumpkin, sugar, egg and butter. Blend in electric mixer for best results. In a different bowl put flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Mix baking soda with milk in a tiny bowl and stir in. Pour one bowl into another and mix in mixer. Add vanilla, making sure it gets mixed in well! Add chocolate chips, making sure they get mixed in dough well, too. Using a spoon put cookie dough on greased cookie sheets. Bake for 11 minutes. Enjoy!

Parenting Tip- Take the Oatmeal Challenge.

A friend of mine had a daughter that felt sluggish in the mornings at school. Yes, she was having breakfast, but it was sugared cereal. For two weeks my friend had her daughter eat a hearty bowl of oatmeal (she could sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar on top) for breakfast. She said it made a difference. Her daughter was more alert at school. You might want to test this out for yourself.

Book Review: The Thanksgiving Story

"The Thanksgiving Story" by Alice Dalgliesh. Illustrated by Helen Sewell. A book for third to fourth graders. It's true there isn't a lot of Thanksgiving books in the library compared to other books you can check out, but I would pass on this book anyway if you found it. You do learn information about the pilgrims but it was given in a boring manner. I found it so dull I took a look at the copyright date and wasn't surprised it said 1954. Overall this book could have been more exciting. Nowadays there are writers and illustrators who make learning about history fun. I have to state it was noted in the author's notes that the text and pictures in this book were purposely made simple. I got the point- it was a simpler time when the Pilgrims lived in America. But unfortunately I still thought the pictures were blah and text was just plain humdrum. This is one book that can go to the book sale to buy new library books.

A Thanksgiving Arts and Craft Project: Candle Centerpiece

What you need: Styrofoam the size of a rectangular brick. Orange or green paint. Paint brush. Three tapered candles. Foliage from yard like autumn leaves, a twig with berries …

What to do: Paint Styrofoam. Let dry. Stick candles in row in the middle of it. Place foliage around base.
If you light candles make sure when they melt they don’t get too close to Styrofoam or foliage. To be safe this project should be for decoration only.

Parenting Article: Qualities to being a Good Parent

Qualities to being a Good Parent Part 1

Someone asked me what I thought were the most important qualities/attributes to being a good parent. I thought about it and came up with a list of ten.

1)Above all Love Your Child.
Love is an action not just mere words. Love should not be confused with spoiling a child. You also should not have to pick which you love more, your spouse or your child. Each relationship is separate. Besides it is like comparing apples to oranges. And remember your child is a separate entity from you. Just because you like baseball does not mean they have to.

2)Patience.
Especially when you’ve had a hard day and your child is being extra trying.

3)Kindness.
Be kind and you will get kindness in return. (But maybe not the same day.)

4)Empathy. For your child and others.
When you are empathetic you are displaying compassion and understanding. A big thanks to all parents who do this.

5)Caring. For family and society.
One way to teach your child to care is by doing good works for others. And I do not
mean just forking money over to a charity for a tax break. I mean giving your time. A child is more likely to help with worthy causes now and later in life if
they witness their parents doing so.

6)Consistency.
Children like to be safe. Consistency in rules, behavior, how you act, etc. gives them security.

7)The ability to give consequences and stick to them.
Some parents have problems being the heavy. Society needs your cooperation here. One day your child will be living on their own and among us. Every society appreciates good citizens.

8)Control your temper.
Calm parenting is much more effective. Yelling and throwing a tantrum ruins your creditability.

9)Teach your child how to fit in society properly.
By this I mean teaching your child good hygiene, good manners, how to get along with others and how to make friends. Some children are shy so it is especially important to show them how to make friends.

10)Take an interest in what your child likes and dislikes.
Even if you are not very good at sports but your child is, you can still enjoy sports together. You can watch a baseball game together or GO TO THEIR HOME GAMES if they play a sport. And you can always find time for a tea party. As far as taking an interest in what a child does not like, an example of this: if they do not like teddy bears why would you keep giving them one?

Movie Review: Madagascar

Movie Title: Madagascar. Animation film. Rated PG. It's an okay film. Not great, not bad. It has its moments. I expected Madagascar to be better from its trailers.
Story line: A zebra at New York's Central Park zoo makes a break for it. His three friends, a hippo, giraffe, and lion, go after him. The animals are all caught and returned to the zoo. An animal rights group, thinking the animals escaped because they don't like being in captivity, get the animals sent back to their homeland via boat. On route home an accident occurs and the crates carrying the four friends falls in the ocean. The animals end up in Madagascar. There they have to learn to get along to survive. The lion (voice of Ben Stiller) and the zebra (voice of Chris Rock) are the best characters in the movie.

Book Review: 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving- 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey. A truly amusing Thanksgiving picture book, written like 'Twas the Night Before Christmas as if it were an ode to it. Mr. Pilkey even writes about eight turkeys with comical names like the reindeers in 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. I highly recommend 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving. It's jolly good fun.

Children and Verbal and Non-verbal Communication

People communicate in different ways. They express how they feel verbally and non-verbally. Verbal expression is telling someone how you feel. "Please don't say that. That hurts my feelings." Non-verbal expression is showing with your face and/or body movements how you feel. Teaching kids to watch facial expressions and body language in others is important. Let's say your child takes the ball away from a classmate because they’re mad at how the handball game is going. The classmate might hunch their shoulders and look sad because of this. Or give your child an angry look. This is non-verbal expression of how they feel about the matter. They're not happy. When this happens have your child: Stop. Look. Focus. They are to stop what they're doing. Look to see how their actions are making someone feel. Then focus on their behavior. They can make things better by giving the ball back and saying, "Sorry, I took the ball. Go ahead, it's your turn." Paying attention to others feelings is how you keep friends.

Birthday Fun

For a special birthday your child will remember for years to come. Wrap five small presents. Hide them where your child will find them as they go about their day. Example: Put a present in their toothbrush drawer, their shirt drawer, inside their shoe, inside their backpack, on their seat in the car, tie it to the dog leash if they walk the dog… If they don’t find a present where you put it, take the present and put it in a spot they will find it, such as, under their bedcovers.

Parenting Tip on Reducing Sugary Desserts

You can reduce the white sugar intake in your home by substituting the required white sugar in your recipe with something else. I've seen a cook book on this. Also, some fruits are sweet enough alone so offer these types of fruits as a dessert. You can make Mondays and Wednesdays tasty fruit night. Serve mangos slices. Nectarine slices. Cut up watermelon. (Some children are more inclined to eat fruit if it's sliced or cut up.) Fresh strawberries. Blueberries. Dried apricots. Dried peaches. Do not serve fruit your child isn't keen about. This defeats the purpose of getting your child to see that fruit can be a tasty dessert. In other countries other than the U.S. fruit is actually considered a dessert.

Movie Review: Aladdin

Movie Title: Aladdin. Disney animation film. Musical. Robin Williams does an amazing job as the voice of the genie. In fact, his funny antics steal the show. Aladdin's worth renting just because of him. Plot: It's time for Arabian Princess, Jasmine, to marry. However, she has to marry a royal. Along comes a peasant who wants to marry her. Lucky for him he comes across a magic lamp. The Genie in the lamp turns this commoner into a prince. But before Aladdin can marry his princess he must thwart the plan of an evil sorcerer. The movie is appealing to both boys and girls. Side note: A couple of moms have told me they don’t like the mid-drift top Jasmine wears in the movie.

Book Review: Harriet, You’ll Drive Me Wild

“Harriet, You’ll Drive Me Wild,” by Mem Fox. Illustrated by Marla Frazee. I thought the pictures in the book were cute.
This picture book is about a mom who tries to keep her cool when her small child keeps spilling and knocking things over. The mom finally loses it and yells at her daughter. But she’s sorry and apologies to her child. This is something that does happen to parents. It’s important to let your child know even grown-ups can reach a limit and act out.